1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a rotating camera attachment and, more particularly, to a rotatable lens system that works in conjunction with after-market digital and video cameras by means of a corresponding electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Special events have been captured ever since film-based cameras were introduced to the market nearly 100 years ago. The recent advent of digital cameras and digital camcorders enhances a person's ability to easily and inexpensively capture events in more striking detail. One disadvantage to this technology is that a person is only able to partially capture a moment based on a very limited field of view typical of most cameras. A standard camera affords its viewer only a 90° field of view while a wide-angled camera can approach a 150° field at best.
The limited fields adequately allow a viewer to record a particular object within view, but they prevent the viewer from simultaneously recording the events that occur around and the ones that react to the primary object. Accordingly, there is a long-felt need for a means to capture and to simultaneously display a primary object and the supporting objects in the periphery and the background. A means that accomplishes the dual-recordings in an easy and an effective manner will provide later viewers a stronger impression of an event captured with even greater accuracy.
The present invention provides such a means. A search of the prior art revealed no patents that read on the claims of the present invention; however the following references were related:
U.S. App. No. 2003/0165344 to Becker et al. teaches a means in which indicia on a mask are viewable to a user depending on what operating mode the camera is in;
U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,842 to Glaros et al. teaches an automatic camera that simultaneously takes a picture while providing the information with which the picture is identified;
U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,537 to Ettischer teaches an alternately moveable pair of lenses having a longer focusable lens and a shorter fixed-focus lens;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,874 to Ohmura teaches a side-by-side dual lens pair having a long focus lens and a short focus lens;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,903 to Labaziewicz and U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,958 to Stoneham both teach a dual lens pair having a long and a short focus lens selectively for telephoto and wide angle photography;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,849 to Harris et al. teaches a security camera that can photograph a person and the person's documentation in a single exposure;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,721 to Burnham teaches a pivotable camera lens carrier with alternative taking lenses;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,419 to Carbery teaches a system to display a three-dimensional video image by means of a dual-lensed camera that generates signals to represent a subject from each of two different perspectives;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,088 to Fuss teaches a method to advance photographic film on a dual-lens camera by means of aligning unexposed film with each lens;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,973 to Mizukawa teaches a telescope lens and a standard lens comprised on a camera to provide a means for telescope and wide-angle photgraphing;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,753 to Lo et al. teaches a dual-lens camera that comprises shutters, wherein a first shutter is released to take a two dimensional photo with a first lens and the second shutter is released to take a three dimensional photo with dual lenses;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,334 to Fantone teaches a dual focal length camera compacted by means of four mirror arrangements; and,
U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,291 to Asano teaches an image processing apparatus that comprises a first memory to store background image data and a second memory to store on-screen display image data.
International Patents 0 324 424 A1, 0 325 140 A1 (Europe) and GB 2 257 597 (United Kingdom) are also considered related.
There is presently no technology that achieves the objects of the present invention.